The invention relates to an endoscope having a proximal end area, a distal end area introducible into the body of a human being, a shaft extending in a longitudinal direction, and an optical device extending through the shaft in the longitudinal direction thereof and movable relative to the shaft.
Endoscopes of the kind described hereinabove are used for various purposes when performing minor surgery on the human body. An operating surgeon can view the operating site with the aid of the optical device extending through the shaft. With conventional endoscopes, the optical device is introducible from the proximal end into the shaft and displaceable therein in axial direction. It has proven to be disadvantageous that the optical device can be moved in an uncontrolled manner.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to so improve an endoscope of the kind mentioned hereinabove that the optical device is easier and safer to handle.